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Miami Heat rookie Tyler Herro is set to become the first player born in the 2000s to appear in the NBA Finals as his team prepares to face the Los Angeles Lakers beginning on Wednesday.
Herro has emerged as a key player for the Heat during the playoffs and had a remarkable series versus the Boston Celtics, in which he averaged 19.2 points per game. The run by Herro has been even better considering just last week he felt as though he has been overlooked in his career.
The 20-year-old has been motivated all season long by those doubts and he said on Tuesday that being selected 13th overall by the Heat has even motivated him. Channeling his inner Draymond Green, Herro said he can even recite each player drafted ahead of him last year.
I think being drafted 13 definitely motivates me, but I love where I was drafted. I mean, I love the opportunity I was drafted into, the situation. But the 12 guys ahead of me definitely are in the back of my head all the time, and I know every last one that was drafted ahead of me. And I mean, it definitely does fuel me.
Players will often look back and compare how those players selected before them ultimately panned out. Green infamously said a few years back that he could name every player selected ahead of him in the 2012 NBA Draft when he was taken 35th overall — and he did just that.
Of course, Herro was still a lottery pick while dozens of other players went after him. However, sometimes, players need to create motivation for themselves and it appears as though Herro has done just that, and it is certainly working for him this postseason.
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